Kids Bible Devotional for December 5, 2024
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Focus Verse
Acts 6:1-2 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. (KJV)
Jump Start
[Blowing up a balloon.] Whew! I’m out of breath. It’s a good thing because if I blow this balloon up anymore, it’s going to….
Pop!
Do you still have any clothes you wore when you were a toddler? If so, is there a chance they still fit? Most likely, they will not. You’ve outgrown them.
This is the issue that the first century church faced. The church grew, and so did the needs of their members. Sadly, because of the persecution faced by these early Christians, many who were in desperate need found no help from the synagogues. These needs fell to the apostles who were struggling to keep up with ministry, not to mention their own much-needed time in preparation and prayer.
Today's Devotion
“Hey, Casey, can you come here for just a sec?” Casey’s mother called to him as he sat on the living room floor, practicing his guitar.
He found his mother in the garage packaging several containers with cookies wrapped in plastic. She started an online business selling her home-baked cookies, which quickly took off. Casey had never seen so many boxes prepped for shipping. They were stacked on top of a row of tables that filled one side of the garage.
“Wow, Mom. How many cookies did you bake?” he asked.
“A lot. I’ve been baking all night to fill the orders that came in just the last couple of days. Can you help me box them so I can haul them to the Post Office?”
Casey grabbed a cardboard crate. “How many do you need to ship?”
“Over two hundred,” she said.
Casey let out a whistle. “Two hundred. That’s more than you did all of last month. And these were just from the last couple of days?”
“Yep, they were,” she said. “I had no idea these cookies would become so popular so fast.”
“I told you they would after that influencer raved about them on her social media account. I have to agree with her, though. They are the best giant cookies on the planet.”
Mom sighed. “I’m thankful to God for the success, but to tell you the truth, if this keeps up, I’m either going to need to rent a bakery or hire help. Or both. There’s no way I can do this by myself much longer in our little kitchen.”
“What about your nursing job?”
“I don’t know,” Mom said. “Looks like I’m getting to the point where I going to have to choose. Is this a side hustle or do I make a go of it full time?”
“Ah! Growing pains,” Casey said. “Sounds like a good problem to have.”
Wrap Up
In our theme verse, we learned that the devil flees when we resist his lies and temptations. But what gives us the power to resist? James mentions it at the beginning of the verse: submit yourself to God.
Submission to God looks something like this. We are more interested in pleasing God than our own flesh. We would rather obey God than give into momentary pleasures that will harm us anyway. This harm could come in various forms like guilt, scolding, loss of reputation, and many other ways.
The point is that when temptations come – and they will – ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” Then, do that. In other words, the more you are attracted to righteousness, the more repellant sin will be.
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